In one of our classes, we were asked to give positive and negative images of INSEAD - as well as come up with associations of images. For instance, if INSEAD were an animal, a day of the week, a sports, etc...

The results were interesting. Applicants, this might well be of help to you during your application process. See if you can identify with these values, challenge them, talk to alumni, talk to the administration, find out for yourself. And test them against your priorities and personal quest. Note that these are opinions voiced by a very small number of participants and by no means represent the consensus on campus, nor the official view of INSEAD.

Top Three Good Points:
- Diversity and International Mix: INSEAD was the most exotic campus anyone had ever spent time on, although culture clashes did not occur as expected. One reason could be that most MBA participants have chosen INSEAD to be with like-minded people when it come to cross-cultural issues and tolerance matters. Definitely for all a source of endless surprises and enlightment.
- Entrepreneur: INSEAD is widely recognized as one of if not the most innovative B-School. Not only does it have a strong emphasis on entrepreneurship in its curriculum, it also displays a pioneer spirit. Especially here in Singapore.
- Quality: not only of the participants, but also of the faculty.

Top Three Improvement Points:
- Bureaucracy and Administrative professionalism: accumulated weight over the years might have rendered certain administrative processes less efficient than they could be.
- Advertising: INSEAD has sharply decreased its ratio of Europeans in the program. No single nationality exceed 10% as a rule in general, but since Europe has so many countries, and since France, the UK and Germany are well represented, the overall proportion of European students is among the highest on campus. In fact, the concentration of French people is higher in Singapore - not surprisingly. However, it could beef up representation of the African continent (minority at INSEAD, although represented)
I do not know the exact stats but they are available on the school website.
One thought was that INSEAD was not advertising itself as effectively among these business communities as in other environments.
Another example of brand management was about cases: INSEAD, after Harvard Business School, is one of the business schools that writes the highest number of cases. In fact, apparently, it has received awards of excellence for this achievement. Most of these cases are quite unique as they will present a cross cultural environment, another national sensitivity, in addition to the standard MBA course content. We would love to see more of them used in class here.

Another interesting comment was made about the school sometimes being shy: participants noted that INSEAD keeps growing and has achieved fantastic results in over 30 years matching the best programs, that have been around for over 100 years, in creating a name for itself and in pursuing its vision of a global village. INSEAD brings the world at your doorstep. It has a clear vision and a strong track records. Some of us felt that it was too shy about claiming what its values, its accomplishments were, too shy to unleash its full potential. Maybe it is just a North American view - because INSEAD is such a unique place, what is excessive to one might sounds too little to others.

Apparently INSEAD's mascot is a Salamander: how did this happen?

Examples of Associations and their rationale given in class:
- Seasons: Spring because of a Renaissance in your life: Fall because as soon as you start to like the shades of colors around you, it will fade as you graduate.
- Plant or Tree: Sequoia, because you live in your little sphere up there, detached from the rest of the world. Sunflower because it follows the sun throughout the day, wakes up at the beginning of the program and some of it dies at the end. Jungle because it is wild, there is competition for light, survival matters but also because it is extremely rich and diverse
- Car: 2CV because it is one of the most durable cars (since 1948!!!), small and fun, original and at the time a very advanced design!; BMW: not a jaguar but has a great deal of class
- Musical Instrument: bagpipes because the bloody assignments never seem to end! Piano because you must synchronize many different activities and keep one finger on different notes; a symphonic orchestra because of the need to bring together in harmony so many individual sounds
- Feeling: rush, enthusiasm, hope